Brendan Fraser may have been the epitome of human perfection back in 1997 when he was filming the Disney spoof George of the Jungle. Fraser’s wild man of the jungle build was every bit as spectacular as Disney’s animated Tarzan, right down to his six-pack abs.
But. according to Fraser, the physical regimen required for the part made him almost as light-headed as George was after crashing into that tree.
Fraser recently caught up with his former Airheads co-star Adam Sandler for a heartwarming reunion/interview with Variety. Sandler brought up Fraser’s impressive physical transformation for the part of George teasing, “I was disappointed how good you looked in that. You weren’t supposed to do that to us.”
Fraser responded that he had little choice given that his wardrobe for the film rarely consisted of anything more than a loincloth.
Fraser then revealed that his character’s demanding diet and workout schedule had other effects in addition to nearly zero percent body fat.
“I was waxed. Starved of carbohydrates. I would drive home after work and stop to get something to eat,” Fraser recounted before admitting the lack of bread had affected his memory.
“I needed some cash one day, and I went to the ATM, and I couldn’t remember my PIN number because my brain was misfiring.”
The regimen was 180 degrees of separation from the work Fraser put into his current staring role in The Whale in which he plays a morbidly obese English teacher named Sam. Fraser was determined to approach the role with compassion.
“It’s important to say this because there are those who live with this disease. I felt empowered to be their voice and to be as honest as I could and as authentic as I could in the portrayal.”
Fraser purposely gained weight for the role and utilized over 300 pounds of prosthetics.
The Whale will be released theatrically in the United States on Dec. 9